1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an air bag device, and in particular, to an air bag device having a curtain-shaped air bag body which is mounted and accommodated so as to extend between a front pillar and a roof side rail of a vehicle.
2. Description of the Prior Art
There exist conventional air bag devices for vehicles which, at the time of a collision, unfold a curtain-shaped air bag body which is mounted and accommodated at the roof side rail of the vehicle. An example of such an air bag device is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (JP-A) No. 6-340241.
As illustrated in FIG. 8, in the air bag device of JP-A No. 6-340241, a housing 72 which accommodates an air bag body 70 is mounted to a roof side rail 74. The air bag body 70 is accommodated in a folded state within the housing 72. The housing 72 is positioned at a rear, upper corner 76A of a side window 76. Two long, thin guide elements 80, 82 extend from the housing 72 along the roof side rail 74 and a B pillar 78. A plurality of retaining elements of the air bag body 70 move slidingly along the guide elements 80, 82, and the air bag body 70 unfolds.
However, the air bag body 70 of the air bag device cannot cover a front, upper portion 76B of the side window 76. As a result, the entire region of the substantial upper half of the side window 76 may be covered by an air bag body 86 as illustrated by the imaginary line in FIG. 8. In this case, an upper side 86A of the air bag body 86 forms a curve along a line extending from a front pillar 88 (also called an "A pillar") to the roof side rail 74, such that the air bag body 86 is mounted so as to extend from the front pillar 88 to the roof side rail 74. Further, when the air bag body 86 is to be accommodated in a housing (unillustrated) which is mounted so as to extend between the front pillar 88 and the roof side rail 74, the air bag body 86 is folded, for example, in a bellows-like shape from the lower side toward the upper side thereof, and is accommodated in the housing. However, because the mounting portion runs along the front pillar 88, it is difficult to fold up the air bag body 86 to a uniform thickness, and the ease and convenience of mounting and accommodating the air bag body 86 deteriorates.